IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10 November 2003

Teachers face pay cut followed by pay cut followed by paycut, says NUT

The National Union of Teachers, Britainsbiggest teachers union with 250,000 members, today condemned the Governmentsimposed two and a half year pay settlement.

The deal means a 2.5 per cent increase fromApril 2004, 2.5 from April 2005, topped up to 3.25 in September 2005 to operatefor a further year till 31 August 2006. This represents an increase for the 17months of around 3 per cent.

Commenting, Doug McAvoy, NUT GeneralSecretary, said:

Todays announcement provides a bleakprospect for teachers. Again this government offers teachers less than theincreases in average earnings. In each of the years since 1997 the increase inteachers pay has been less than the increase in average earnings. Each yearsince Labour came to power, there has been a cumulative worsening of increasesin pay for teachers. Todays decision by the Education Secretary will ensurefurther worsening up to September 2006.

The decision to freeze teachers pay atinflation will increase the gap with other graduate employees, increase theproblems of recruitment and retention which will be used to force schools touse unqualified persons to take whole classes. The Governments main objectiveis to reduce the number of teachers and increase the number of unqualifiedpersons taking classes.

By one route or another this Governmentwill ensure teaching on the cheap.

This offers bleak prospects for teachersas interest rates go up, mortgages go up, average earnings go up but teacherspay slips further and further behind other employees.

• 2.5% for 2004 is less than the current rate of inflation (2.8%) and well below the current increase in average earnings (3.4%). By phasing the 2005 award the increase in pay received by teachers will be limited to 2.5% well below the projected increase in average earnings of 4.2%

• To decide 22 months in advance to phase in a low settlement for 2005 underlines the advantage to the Government and the disadvantage to teachers of a multi-year settlement imposed through the Review Body. Sadly this approach has been supported by the other teacher unions as the Governments partners.

• The trigger for a further review is almost one per cent higher than the pay freeze being imposed on teachers, which further underlines the disadvantage to teachers of a multi-year award. More sinister are the Governments proposed changes to the inflation index including leaving out from inflation major increases in consumables which will mean that the Government may never have to trigger a review of teachers pay awards.

• The Governments intention to ration progress through the Upper Pay Scale breaks David Blunkett's promise and strips away what was no more than a fig leaf of respectability for performance related pay - a flawed system opposed only by the NUT.

E N D PR.85/03

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